Stoke vs Preston prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-09-01 14:00.
Stoke City are coming into this weekend’s fixture looking to record a third successive home league victory for the first time since the start of the 2021/22 season, a whopping 43 Championship home games ago! The Bet365 Stadium, where the Potters were beaten in each of their last four home league fixtures last season, has since become a fortress with four victories here already in this campaign across all competitions.
The Stoke faithful have already seen their side score 13 home goals this season, including the opening goal on every occasion, whilst Tuesday’s thumping 6-1 EFL Cup win over Rotherham was the first time since defeating Liverpool by the same scoreline in May 2015 that they netted six goals in a match. It was a fitting performance and result for manager Alex Neil, who celebrated his one year anniversary in the role on Monday, and he sounded particularly excited for the future when acknowledging the squad is “still in a transitional period”.
Preston North End, who Neil managed from 2017-2021, will be looking to ruin the feelgood factor when they look to extend their unbeaten start to the Championship season to five games (W3, D1). The history books would indicate North End have a great chance to do so, as they have an unbeaten run at the Bet365 Stadium to preserve (W4, D1).
Ahead of this weekend’s fixtures, Ryan Lowe’s side are in fifth position after wins from their last three in the Championship, and they are yet to fire a blank in front of goal. They have also been solid at the back, with only Watford conceding fewer goals in the division ahead of the round, and whilst Lowe insists the team is “not getting too carried away”, they should feel they have the ability to tame the home side’s firepower on Saturday.
Players to watch: André Vidigal missed out on the 6-1 win on Tuesday after being rested due to a slight niggle but is expected to be back and will be looking to add to his tally of three goals from two league home games. Duane Holmes has already contributed to four goals across all competitions this season (G2, A2) and the USA international will equal his league goals tally from 2022/23 if he notches one here.
Hot streak: The home side on the day has not won any of the last seven H2Hs.